Cairo residents get a rare and symbolic opportunity as former President Hosni Mubarak's once-private polling station is opened to general voters.
Local residents were excited to vote at this girl's school - a privilege that was reserved for Mubarak and his family for 30 years.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VOTER, MORAD AMIN, SAYING:
''In this constituency, this polling station we are in now is very close to the former president's house. No one could get close to it because it was his own private polling station. Truly I am happy; I came here today first of all to cast my vote, secondly to enter this school which I have never in my life been allowed to enter or vote in.''
Ousted by popular protests in February, this footage shows Mubarak voting with his wife and son in 2010.
Mubarak's National Democratic Party swept those elections, during which allegations of fraud and vote-rigging were widespread.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HOUSEKEEPER, SAMMY NAOUM, SAYING:
''The day before the election the police would arrive and investigate. And they used to wash the streets with soap and water and put flowers on the pavements. They would close the entrance to the street from this side and there they put security gates and no one could enter, except the president.''
Across the country, many are optimistic that the first vote without Mubarak will also be Egypt's first free and fair elections.
Lindsey Parietti, Reuters